Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Tornados and thunderstorms

This will be a quick one because I am limited on time today so I will make it quick :)

Monday- We had zone p day and we played ultimate frisbee, and dodgeball! Then we went to and did service for a family who is moving then we went to bishops for FHE!

Tuesday- Just had a day full of service for two different people! We helped dig up a palm tree and I got to use the pic axe and it was a lot of fun! I really like pic axes hahaha! I felt like an early latter day saint working on the temple! haha then we went and taught Rolf and then had dinner at the Cashmans to finish our day off!

Wednesday- We had a Tornado hit in a town like 5 minutes away from us so the thunderstorm that hit this day was crazy!! We got soaked running from maccas to our car hahaha! Then we got some hair cuts at Elder Smiths flat from his comp! Then we had dinner at the Lee's home where we shared a message with them and they read a Christmas story to us about the true meaning of Christmas and it was so great!

Thursday- Was feeling really trunky (wanting to go home) in the morning so it was a slow start to the day haha then we shared a message with a Less Active member that went really good! then we went to work at the Temple lights which is like an hour away! It was a lot of fun! We saw heaps of members there and talked to a lot of people!

Friday- We had DTM where we got trained on Comp unity hahaha something I haven't really had too much this transfer but it is a work in progress! Then we practiced our song as a zone that we were going to sing at Christmas Conference! Then we did service and had dinner at a members home!

Saturday- Had Service for an elderly lady in the ward then we went over to a Less Active's house for lunch and a message! He was in a really angry mood so we had to try really hard to calm him down haha pretty scary at first but the Spirit helped to calm him down! Then we went to give a blessing to a sister that the sister missionaries were visiting and she gave us a Lebanese dessert and not thinking I just ate it! Turns out it had nuts in it! It was walnuts that were in it but the lady said it was Pistachios! So I was freaking out with my epi pen ready to inject myself but I kept waiting for a reaction and nothing happened! Turns out that the one I had was walnuts and that the one next to it on the same plate was Pistachios so the Lord was looking out for me and guided my hand to pick the one I ate! Lesson learned to  ask before I just eat haha! I felt so blessed!

Sunday- Had church then we went to lunch at the Liehr's home and then we shared a mormon message with them! After that we had the First Presidency's  Christmas Devotional at the Chapel! It was good to get to watch that and I hope you all watch it too!

Monday- Christmas Conference all day!! Got to see all the missionaries in the mission! It was so good to see everyone!! Got to see my main man Yardley too so that was so awesome!! We got to watch the Other Side of Heaven too which was cool because I have never seen it! 

I Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Remember the true meaning of it and keep the Savior in our thoughts and hearts! Also enjoy your time with your family and let them know how much you appreciate them! Love you all!! 

-Elder Jenson :)
 


at the Christmas lights

TEMPLE DAY

zone

selfie with his zone

cheap jerseys he bought... I'm sure he's in heaven

ballllaaaaaa

Yardley


 

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Birthday week, baby.

P.s. P day isn't until next Tuesday, I'm not sure if he meant Tuesday for us or Tuesday for him... soon I guess we will find out next week.


Hello  there family and friends! This week has been a pretty busy and fun week! Here is the update from Elder Jens!

Monday- Did normal P day festivities along with golfing! We went and played 9 holes at the Woolooware golf course! It was way nice! We didn’t pay for carts which was a mistake haha we walked the course which is something I have never done while golfing and will probably never do again haha having a cart is so much nicer! My game wasn’t as good as i would’ve hoped… hahaha but i still had heaps of fun! After P day we went to the Bakers home for dinner! It was a great day!

Tuesday- started off the day doing service at the Cashman’s home, where we did yard work and all that good stuff! Then we had lunch at their home, then we went and got our car and brought it back so we could wash it with their hose, so it would be clean for Zone Conference the next day! After that we went and taught Rolf and started his new member lessons with him, which is basically just going over all the lessons we taught him before his baptism! Then after that we went back to the Cashman’s for dinner and a lesson! Haha we were there a lot that day but it was good!

Wednesday- Woke up feeling a little older this day… haha we had Zone conference which was awesome!!! I felt older until I saw Elder Smith at zone conference and he said that technically it is still Tuesday at home so you aren’t 19 yet…haha but I still felt older! :) haha so zone conference was awesome! The trainings by President & Sister Back were amazing and the AP’s did a fine job as well! I was feeling spiritually uplifted at the end of it all! For lunch at zone conference we had costco pizza!! It actually tasted like american pizza too so that was an awesome lunch for my B day! Then during lunch we played a way fun paddle ball game with everyone and even president played too! So zone conference ended like 4:30, then we went home and changed and headed over to the Liehr’s home for dinner and a lesson! They made us Mexican food and they baked me a cake for my birthday with candles and all!! They made the day that much better! It was like being with family away from family! :)

Thursday- Did service for a less active member and shared a message after, then we were able to go and visit a member at Salvos, (Salvation Army) and say hi to him after the service! We met a way awesome guy who was keen on the Gospel but he doesn’t have a phone or a place of residence so it was hard to coordinate a time to teach him! So we are hoping we will see him around again! Then we went and taught Rolf and the lesson went good as usual! Then we went to the Bakers to do some service for them and we had dinner there as well! Twas a good day!

Friday- Our investigator cancelled his appointment with us which was a bummer but we rescheduled so it is all good! So Friday we spent heaps of time on the train talking to people! It is hard to find those that are interested but it is still fun to talk to people! I like riding the trains it is fun :) haha then we went to a farewell party for a couple in the ward! They are so awesome and they are a prime example of how the Gospel changes lives and blesses people! They just got sealed together in the temple like a week ago so they are just solid! It was good to be there and see them one more time before they leave!

Saturday- We did service for an elderly sister in the ward for the afternoon! Then we went and did some finding on the train until our appointment with the Lee’s! We had dinner with them and shared Elder Bednar’s talk from the 2015 Christmas Devotional! He talks about the first Christmas from the view of the Book of Mormon! It was really cool to hear! I advise you all to go watch it! :)

Sunday- Had a good time at church! I was just in a really great mood and just loved talking to people and being my sarcastic self with them haha! I love when I am i good moods like I was Sunday! Then after church we went to the Kendricks home for a belated birthday lunch! They made Birthday pancakes and they were the bomb!! We played kickball and my team won.. by a lot hahaha! It was nice going over there as usual! Then we went and just visited members and less actives the rest of the day and taught heaps of lessons so that was pretty awesome!

The Lord has truly been blessing us in this area and me in general! I often think that I don’t deserve all the blessings that the Lord has given me but I am truly grateful for all that he has given me! I am trying my best to stay obedient and to stay motivated so that I can repay the Lord for all that he has done for me! 

My spiritual thought for the week comes from 2 Nephi 32:3 “Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold the words of Christ will tell you all things ye should do.” 

Feast upon the words of Christ! The words of Christ will tell us all things we should do! We must read the scriptures daily and ponder what we read because the scriptures are how the Lord talks to us and answers our prayers! He loves us so much and  he wants to help us in all that we do, we just need to feast upon his words and follow his teachings! Happiness lies therein! I love the scriptures and the power they give me each day to do this divine work! The Scriptures are true!! 

Love you all heaps! Have a good week and enjoy this CHRISTmas season! :) 

Elder Jenson



Golfin' with da wardies

Dragons on a tie... You're welcome (Birthday gift from yours truly, Aubrey.)

Selfie game is strong...

Costco pizza... I don't really know why he took a picture of this. It's like he's never seen it before. 

Happy birthday to you... happy birthday to you

He's SO excited to eat cake...

"wow, this cake looks delicious."

"And I got presents... BEST DAY EVER"

He bought himself a new clothes for his day of birth... from the salvation army.
Sweet new shoes, bro.


and hat.. sweet new hat. 
Birthday gift from our sweet mamma.

Monday, December 7, 2015

It's SAAAAAANTAAAAAA

For anybody who is wanting to send Elder Jenson a Christmas package or card, please do so. The address for packages and regular mail is on the right hand side of this blog. Don't feel obligated to send him anything, we know its expensive. But we also know he would love to receive anything via mail during the holidays. Our boy's birthday is on the 9th (That's Wednesday, people) send him a nice e-mail wishing him a happy birthday, he would love to hear from all of you! k thanks byeeee.

Hello beloved family and friends! Excited to be taking to all of you’s today! Here is my fun filled week for ya! :)

Monday- Had a bomb P day! We went and emailed to start off the day like usual, then we went to the mall and did some christmas shopping! After that we went and balled our little hearts out at the chapel with the other Elders! Then we had an awesome family home evening with the Bishop and his family! His little kids are pretty darn cute gotta admit haha! 

Tuesday- Started the day off with some service for the same elderly couple from last week! That went well then we went and got lunch on the way home from that! After that we went and gave a Sister missionary in our area a blessing at the chapel! After that we had a lesson with Rolf at the Chapel and taught him about the millennium and it was an awesome lesson! That lesson strengthened my testimony a lot! Then we went to the Cashman’s home for dinner like usual and then we started a one day trade-off with our district leader! Elder Boden stayed here with our DL and I went to Bankstown to the Samoan ward with Elder Davis for Tuesday night to Wednesday night! Elder Davis is the man!

Wednesday- We went to a funeral service for a young boy who passed away in the Bankstown ward. It was really surreal to see the Mom and Dad get up and talk about their son and his death. Even though it was in Samoan and i couldn’t understand it, it still made me so emotional! Watching the father be a pall bearer for his own son’s casket made it hard not to cry! It was such a surreal experience to me to see parents have to burry their own child. That is something I hope I will never have to experience and my heart goes out to anyone who has experienced it or will experience it. The B-E-A-UTIFUL thing is that the Plan of Salvation is real! The parents will see their son again and I know it! Heavenly Father made the perfect plan for us and it makes it possible for us to live again and be with our families after death, all thanks to the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ! That gave me comfort through the day at the funeral services! The funeral was at the 3rd largest cemetery in the world called Rookwood! So that was a cool experience! Then we went to the feed after the funeral and talked with members and people who were there! After that we visited a kid who is getting ready to be baptised and it went well! Then we got to go be guides at the Temple for the Christmas lights there with our district! It was way fun and it was weird because it is warm outside and there are lights up hahaha! The lights at Temple Square are better but it was still way fun to get to do that! We didn’t get home till 11:45 that night which was poopy but its all good it was a sweet experience! :)

Thursday- We had weekly planning then we went to the elderly couple’s house that we do service for and we took their garbage cans out for them because they are heavy and we didn’t want them to have to do it! Then we went and had a good lunch at home, and after that we visited a less active and shared a message on the Grace of God! It was a powerful lesson! I have loved just baring my testimony to everyone I teach because that is really all we are doing is just testifying of truth to them! Then we gave him a blessing which he requested and it went well and he ended up coming to church on Sunday so that was a huge blessing because he hasn’t come in a while! Then we went and started family history with Rolf and that went good! He loves to talk about his Swiss history! haha then we went to the Lier’s home for dinner and we shared the new video A World Without a Savior with them and discussed the impact Christ has had on all of our lives!

Friday- Had a zone Training meeting then we went and did service for bishop and helped him to move into his new house! That took up a lot of our day which was good haha then we went to the Lee’s home and shared a meal and a message with them! They are the funniest and nicest people! I love them and their strong testimonies that they have! Pretty simple day!

Saturday- We had to go buy a pan to cook some stuff on because we made cookies and a cake for the Liehr and Kendrick family to say thanks to them for all that they do for us! So after we made those we went and helped set up for the Ward Christmas party! It was a pretty fun night at the party! A lot of people and food! I enjoyed myself! That took up a lot of our night then we just went home for the night and went night night! 

Sunday- Had an awesome day at Church! Our new investigator Ramone, who a member referred to us came to church! He came along with Rolf, and the Less Active member that I mentioned! it was awesome to see and kinda overwhelming because there are only two of us Elders to talk to all of them and all the members! hahaha but it was awesome! After Church we did some personal study then we went and delivered the cookies and cake we made to the Lier’s and Kendricks and shared a message with each of them! After that we went to the Stake Recent convert fireside and of course Rolf came! He felt the Spirit hard out! I also felt the Spirit so strong tonight! Some of the Recent converts in the Stake got up and bore their testimony and told their conversion story and it was hard to not tear up!! It was an AWESOME fireside! It was especially awesome to hear Chris Lee tell his story and bare his testimony! At the end Rolf got so emotional and just began to cry! He is truly so grateful for this Gospel and he loves it so much! I am grateful that the Lord put him in our paths! He is such a humble guy and he truly knows the church is true and he just wants to do all he can to please God!

My spiritual thought for the week is the fact that the Lord’s hand is stretched out towards us and all we need to do is reach back out to him. How do we do that? We keep his commandments and are obedient to his teachings, that shows how much we love him and it is how we stretch forth our hand to grab his! Love and serve everyone you meet and do all you can to stay obedient to the commandments! Love you all! Have a good week!!!

Love, Elder Cam Jens :)
 
Part of the nativity at the temple

Isn't this a cute little angel? No.

Picture with the creepy angel

All of the lights, baby.

District at the temple art museum

ZONE

Cute tie and hat for the Christmas party

Ward Christmas party

Came and Rolf

Cam and his Companion, Elder Boden... OH and santa.
Cameron, Angus, and Alex...

Sister Liehr and Sister Ryan

 

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Pride... it ends up costing $400

Well ladies and gentlemen, beware of pride! haha I shouldn’t have told you guys how cool I thought I was for being able to drive here, because I got a ticket for running a red light! hahaha they have speed cameras, and red light cameras here that take a picture of your license plate if you speed or run a red light! So i guess I ran a red light a couple weeks ago! haha I split it 70/30 with Elder Boden though so that helps a little! I still get to drive here luckily and the office Elder wasn’t mad at me :) They will just deduct 50 bucks every month from my monthly budget until it is paid off so it isn’t too bad :) Well now that we have all had a good laugh, here is my week! (The ticket for running a red light is approx $400.00 and thats the 70% Cam owes... haha poor Elder Boden has to pay for Cam's mistakes....literally.)

Monday- Had a glorious P day as usual! Played basketball with the whole zone at the end of the P day which is always a great time! Then to end the night off we went to an investigator family’s home for dinner and a lesson! They are a little hard to teach because there son just runs around the whole time, but they are so awesome and they are way nice to us and they have great questions! We just watched the end of the Prophet of the Restoration movie because we watched the first part the last time we met with them! Exited to see their progress as we keep teaching them!

Tuesday- We did some service in the morning for an elderly couple that aren’t members but the missionaries have done service for them in the past so we continued the tradition! The guy that we did the service for is way easy for me to talk to because he is just a sarcastic old guy like my Grandpa back at home so needless to say we hit it off pretty well! After that we did some finding on the train like usual and didn’t have too much success! Then we had dinner at the Cashman’s home like usual on Tuesday nights! After that we went and played football with the young men in our dress clothes! there are only like 3 active young men in the ward and then the leaders were there but it was still way fun! My main man Blake was there and he is a riot when we play sports haha he always plays shirtless and says “i’m fired up mate!” haha then Angus Liehr threw a touchdown pass to me and I threw one to Luke Kendrick! Needless to say, our team won! haha good night! 

Wednesday- Started off the day with more service! We helped do yard work for a member family in our ward! After that they fed us lunch and we went home and showered! Then we went and visited two less active members in the ward! We shared a message about Ether 12:27 “When ye are in the service of your fellow man ye are only in the service of your God” The guy we shared it with said that it was exactly what he needed to hear! So hats off to Elder Boden because he chose the scripture! I just bore testimony, to what he had already taught! Then we went and taught Rolf about temples and Family History! We are going to get him in the temple to be baptised for his Father and other Family members! He is excited to do that! Then we went home and I made some Alfredo for us! I got a recipe that was a copy cat one for Olive Garden’s Alfredo sauce! I think it tasted exactly like it so I was way happy with the final product and I ate heaps mate!! haha then we got a call from a member in our flat complex that needed help taking a couch down to the curb to be thrown away, so we went and helped out and said good night to them! We get to our door to our flat and it is locked, where are the keys you ask? In the flat! hahaha so we had to call the AP’s to bring us a spare key and let us in! haha so it took them like 30 minutes to get to us! While we were waiting I was chilling on the boot (trunk) of the car and a possum ran by me on the fence! I freaked out thinking it was gonna attack me! Once it passed me I ran from the car freaking out! Haha I lived so all is well :) 

Thursday- woke up at 5:15 so we could go play some Turkey B Ball at the Mortdale chapel with the zone! My team tore it up! It was fun to play some sport just like we did back at home for Thanksgiving! Then we did some finding, weekly planned, and did more finding! Then Kendrick Family had us over for Thanksgiving dinner and a game of kickball as usual! We had Turkey, green beans, corn, potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and a caramel banana pie for dessert! It was so good and so awesome of Sister Kendrick to make that for us :) 

Friday- We had DTM, then an MCM with our ward mission leader! After that we were planing on having 3 lessons through out the day but sadly they all cancelled on us haha but hey thats the life of a missionary right?? So we ended up updating our area book heaps and we did some finding on the train! After that we met with Tom Lennon at Macca’s and had dinner and a message with him! After that we did more finding on the train and then we went home for the night! 

Saturday- We went to the ward priesthood golf event at the par 3 course near our flat! We weren’t able to play because it is a mission rule but it was a good time for us to interact with the members and get to know them better! We got to keep score for them haha I wanted to play so bad though!! So one of the members there works for the salvation army and he brought all these clubs that were donated and at the end he just gave them to us to take to our flat because he has heaps of sets at his house and he gets new ones all the time! So we are going to get some missionaries together next P day and go play 9 holes at a different golf course near us and I am stoked for that! :) then we came home and did our personal study and contacted some less actives! Then that night we were helping out at the relief society Christmas party and we helped serve food and clear the tables for them! In return, we got to eat all the left overs which was a ton!! So many good salads, and desserts it was un real!! Sister Liehr was the one in charge and she was the one who invited us! She always takes good care of us and makes sure we are doing good! Her and sister Kendrick are sisters so it explains why they are so awesome and why their families are both awesome! Then after that we went home for the night! It was a good day getting to know members better and interact with them :)

Sunday- Had ward council, then normal church meetings. Came home and did personal study and had lunch! Then we visited a Less active member of the ward and then we had a stake general priesthood session at Mortdale chapel which went really well! Pretty basic Sunday haha not too much to report on it!

So during one of my studies this week I had the Spirit touch my heart when I was reading about the Millennium and the Second Coming! I got such a happy feeling and excitement in my chest when I thought of the day when I get to see Christ again and dwell with him on Earth! I look forward to that day! So what I was thinking about was if the second coming was tomorrow would I be ready to meet my Savior and Redeemer? I know I can be better and thinking about that makes me want to be better! So think about that through out your days and see if your actions would make you proud to report to the Lord or if you would be ashamed and guilty? I know that as long as we try our best and constantly work at being better followers of Jesus Christ, that the Lord will bless us in our efforts and that we will be happier in this life! I know that is true with all my heart! Love you all and hope you have a great week!!

-Elder Jenson
hmm.... The only thing that comes to mind is dirty... so I will keep it to myself.

like, the cutest sunglasses, EVERRRRR. $230 ain't nothin'. 

HE COOKS?!!? 

Such a fatty.

Turkey Ball, baby. It's a Thanksgiving tradition.

My mom sent Cam a christmas package, looks like he got the package!

Twinning....

And this is a picture he took of himself whilst writing this weekly update. 
Cam sent us this little story this week.... I thought I would share it for those of you who have not heard it before.

The following event took place in a ward in Salt Lake City in 1974. It occurred during Sacrament Meeting and was told to me by a Regional Representative of the twelve, who was in the meeting. A young man, just before leaving on his mission, stood in Sacrament Meeting and bore, in essence, the following testimony. "My Brothers and Sisters, as you know, during the past few weeks I have been awaiting my mission call. During the time I was waiting I had a dream I was in the pre-existence and was awaiting my call to come to earth. I was filled the same excitement and anticipation that I had before I received my mission call. In my dream, I was talking to a friend. He was a very dear friend, and I felt a special closeness to him, even though I've never met him in this life. As we talked, a messenger came and gave me a letter. I knew it was my call to go to earth. In great excitement my friend and I opened the letter I gave it to him and asked him to read it aloud. The letter said: You have been called to earth in a special time and to a special land. You will be born into the true church, and you will have the priesthood of God in you home. You will be raised with many advantages and many blessings. You will be born in a land of plenty-a land of freedom. You will go to earth in the United States of America. "My friend and I rejoiced as we read my call. And while we rejoiced, the messenger returned. This time he had a letter for my friend. We knew it was his call to earth. My friend gave me the letter to read aloud. The letter said: You have been called to go to earth in circumstances of poverty and strife. You will not be raised in the true church. Many hardships will attend your life. Your land will be fraught with political and social difficulties which will hinder the word of the Lord. You will be born in Costa Rica. We wept, my friend and I as we read his call. And my friend looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "when we are down on earth, you in your choice land and me in Costa Rica, my friend, come and find me." Then this young missionary, with tears in his own eyes, said, "Brothers and Sisters, I have received my mission call. I am going to Costa Rica. There is a special sequel to this story. About a year after this Sacrament Meeting, the Bishop to this Ward received a letter form the Missionary in Costa Rica. The letter had one sheet of paper in it, and on the sheet was written in inch-high letter four word: I FOUND MY FRIEND.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

106 degrees in NOVEMBER... gag.

Hello Family and friends! It has been a good week for us here in Sutherland! Here is the rundown!

Monday- It was transfers so we didn’t have P day on this day! It was a super slow and basic day. We did finding pretty much the whole day! Then at night we visited a less active member who is about our age and he is the man! We have met with him before and he really is like a guy that I would be friends with back at home so it is easy to talk to him and teach him! It was a good lesson and he is really taking big steps in coming back to church!

Tuesday- We had P day and it was a really awesome and basic day hahaha! We emailed then we went and walked around the mall and all the shops in Cronulla which is like the beach area! Then we went to the Cashman’s home for dinner and we had meat pies! They are a big aussie thing here! Twas a good P day!

Wednesday- Really basic day as well. We did finding on the train like usual for the whole day mostly! Then we went to a member’s home for a lesson with one of his friends who is investigating the church but she wasn’t able to make it so we just had some pizza with him and shared a message! After that we went and did more finding haha and we just didn’t have all that much success. Gets hard to want to talk to people when all they do is reject you and some days you are on fire and talk to everyone but other days you just can’t build up the courage, so I am trying to be good at talking to people every day! Finding got better as the week progressed though!

Thursday-We did finding to start the day, then we went and visited some less actives in the ward! We were able to meet with two of them before we had a meeting with the ward mission leader and the sister missionaries of the ward! After our meeting with them we met with Rolf at the chapel and just talked with him about how life has been going since his baptism! He has been struggling with his wife because she is really close minded about our church and she isn’t really supportive of him and his decisions which is tough on him. So we just let him vent to us and we were able to just give him counsel and comfort :) Then we went to dinner at the mall and I had some fish n chips that were really good and they were only 5 dollars!! That is a good deal for a meal here in Aussie land!! I liked it a lot and anyone who know’s me I am a huge bargain hunter haha! 

Friday- Fun fact about this day was it was 106 degrees…. in November!!! hahaha being from Utah that is super weird to me! Needless to say it was super hot!! The wind burned our eyes as we walked in the streets! Fetch it was so freaking hot hahahaha it was easy one of the hottest days of my life! It is only spring too so I can expect more of that weather once it is summer time! We had DTM and then we went and taught Gavin! We read 2 Nephi 31 with him and his wife and just helped to break it down for him so that he can understand it better! He had to go to work so it was a quicker lesson but we got through the whole chapter which was good! We wanted to discuss them getting married more but we have to wait until our next lesson but we will get them there :) then we went and did some finding at the train station and we were able to talk to heaps of peeps and we got like 3 potential investigators which is the best we have had in awhile! A potential investigator is just anyone who gives us there phone number or address and says that they are interested but it was a huge blessing from the Lord!

Saturday-We went to a member’s baseball game for a little to see him and his family! While we were there we got called by a member asking for a blessing! She lived right by the field and the member we got to come with us lived really close by as well so that was a cool blessing for us! We went and gave her a blessing and gave her counsel as she is preparing to quit smoking! Then we went and did some less active/Member visits and we were able to meet with a member family who we had never visited before and we were able to share a good message with them and help them to move a table! Then we had Maccas for dinner mmmm :) 

Sunday- Had a good day at church then we went to the Liehr’s home for a lunch with them and the Kendrick family because they are related! He had some burgers and fries! It was fun getting to play baseball with the kids and stuff like that too! Really love both of those families a ton!! They make me feel like I am at home! Then we went to Chris Lee’s house and had dinner with him and his wife Nicole! She made some delicious Chicken Risotto! Then we watched the "John Tanner Story” video with them which is really good and I encourage you all to YouTube it! After which we just discussed following the promptings of the Spirit and we talked about Temples! Then we got home at 8:50 and we are trying to me more obedient and I got a prompting on the way home not to go into the flat until 9 like we are supposed to. So I told Boden that we will go walk around the block real quick and come back by 9! We ended up running into a member of our ward at his car by our flat and while talking to him a guy named John came up and talked to us and told us about his life story! He has a lot of issues and is homeless.. really sad situation! We gave him the address to the church and told him to come check it out on Sunday! Then after that we were able to help the member of our ward carry up some stuff from his car into his flat! So just by not going home 10 minutes early the Lord blessed us and put us in the paths of these two people and it really just showed me how important obedience is and how much the Lord has a hand in everything we do! One of the coolest things to happen so far for me on my mission! :)

My spiritual message for the week is very short and simple! Follow the promptings of the Spirit! Don’t question in your mind when you get a thought or a prompting, “Is this me thinking this, or is this a prompting from God?” If we are living worthy and being a good person then we don’t need to worry! We just need to act on the prompting and I know the Lord will bless us and something will come of it!! I know it is true! I just witnessed it in my life yesterday!! I know things don’t happen by just sheer chance, they happen because they are supposed to happen!! I also know that the Lord answers prayers! I have been needing Him a lot lately and He has been with me every step and I am so grateful for that! I love this Gospel and I love being on a mission! The church is true!! I know it and I can never deny it!! Love you all! Have a good week :) 

Oh and p.s. I am driving here which is pretty cool.. Not gonna lie I feel cool saying I know how to drive on the right side of the car, on the left side of the road.. I don’t know I think it is pretty legit hahaha well love ya’ll!!

-Elder Jenson
DA true church baby!

Onward Christian soldiers....marching as to war!

Cut his own hair.... not too bad if you ask me... 

Cam's mini-me, Blake. He told his mom he was coming to live with our family when Cam goes home. His mom said, "I'll miss you, Blake." to which he replied, "I'll come visit." Looks like we will have a new addition to the family in a couple years haha

Elder Lee, not to be confused with Elder Li from the picture last week... 

Monday, November 16, 2015

NO GRASS IN Australia.

Man what an awesome week it was! Been pretty busy and it was a really fun week that is for sure! So transfers were yesterday and I am staying in Sutherland with Elder Boden for another 6 weeks and I will continue to train him for this transfer! I am really excited to stay in this area for Christmas and for another transfer because the members here are so awesome!! Before I start my weekly update I just wanted to tell you some random things about Australia that I may have not mentioned before. Guns are really hard to get here so I always feel safe knowing that the gun laws here are really enforced strongly! There is no such thing as real grass here… it is all just thorny and sucky! haha so real grass is not a thing here. They don’t eat real bacon here, their “bacon” is basically just ham/canadian bacon so that is a bummer! Food portions are really small here but that hasn’t stopped me from gaining like 10 pounds already! I started running in the mornings today haha I don’t want to get fat!!! Health care is like free here or something like that and there is welfare that people live on and there are like government housing for the poor people but it gets abused. You can just be unemployed and still get paid from welfare which is weird to me. A cost for a decent place to live is like 500,000 dollars!!! It’s freaking nuts! Living here would be a joke!! hahaha people in our ward have houses/property worth like 1.2 million and it is a junk house! So yeah weird stuff here man! I’ll think of other random stuff and write them down for next weeks email! Here is what my week was like!

Monday- So I left the keys in the ignition of the car all night from Sunday to Monday morning so our battery was dead. We got a jump from someone in our complex we live in thankfully or P day would have been the worst! We shopped, cleaned the car, and emailed, you know the usual! Then we went to zone p day where we had a huge water balloon fight, played kickball (my team won), and then we went back to the chapel to play some free for all dodgeball!! Super fun P day, I really enjoyed myself haha :) Then we went to the Liehr’s house for dinner and a message! We shared a mormon message with them about daring to stand alone! Really solid dinner and lesson with them! 

Tuesday- We had a really normal day! Just found people on the train all day! That night we went to the Mortdale chapel where Rolf was being interviewed for his baptism by President Back! The interview lasted like 2 hours because Rolf LOVES to talk! He passed with flying colors and was ready for baptism! Haha he really loves to talk though, like our lessons lasted ages with him because he talks a lot! He just loves talking about the scriptures and all the things he learns! Then we went to dinner at the Cashman’s home and had a meal and a lesson with them! Members are good here, we get fed like every night pretty much, probably why I am gaining weight!

Wednesday- Did some yard work in the morning at the Cashman’s home where we mowed and edged the lawn! Good thing I had practice with an edger on my grandparents yard or I totally would have butchered it! The lawn looked good though! Then they fed us lunch and we were on our way! We then went and found on the train until our appointment with Rolf! We taught Rolf about more of the Commandments in preparation for his baptism! The lesson was solid and he understood it all! Then we went to Mcdonalds for dinner with a member! I ate a Big Mac, Two Cheeseburgers, Large Fry, Large strawberry shake, and an Ice Cream Cone…. Fetch I know why I am getting fat!!! hahaha but it was good :)

Thursday- Really normal and basic day! We just did finding on the train and then we went to another appointment with Rolf! We met with him all week just to help get him ready and to help him stay away from smoking! He said that he had lost the urge to smoke and that the smell made him sick now!! How cool is that? We promised him awhile back that all of this would happen and it is so cool to see that once he put in his effort, the Lord provided the rest! The Lord always comes through for us when we do what he asks us to do! The lesson went good with Rolf and he loved it! Then we went to the Kendrick’s home for dinner and a game of kickball as usual! They are so awesome! I will send pics of all the kids from this week! 

Friday- We were T minus 1 day from Rolfy boy’s baptism! We had DTM in the morning, then we went and taught Gavin about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invited him to be baptised! He said yes! We just need to get him married to his partner and he will be all good to go! But they said that they have been wanting to get married for awhile now so hopefully we can put that all into action for them! Really good lesson with him! Then we met with Rolf for our final visit before his baptism! The Lier family gave us an old suit they had, two white shirts, and heaps of ties to give Rolf on Monday and we waited until the day before to give it to him! We gave it to him after we taught him a lesson on the Priesthood and explained how he would get it after he was baptised! We showed him all the stuff and he loved it! He was so stoked to have all that stuff! Then we had to run from there to a dinner appointment with the Baker family! They are a young couple who has one little son named Sam! They fed us dinner, we played Settlers of Catan, Shared a message and then we went home! Oh and Elder Smith and his new comps stayed at our flat that night for Rolf’s baptism the next day! Elder Smith and I were so stoked to be together again that we stayed up till 2:30 talking that night! Super bad idea and I will never do that again!! Hahaha but yeah it was still fun!

Saturday- Rolf’s baptism baby! Elder Smith did the honors of baptising him! When Rolf stepped into the water I got so teary eyed it was nuts! The Spirit was so strong in the room and it was so surreal seeing someone that you’ve taught from the beginning, being baptised! I loved it so much! Rolf was so emotional after he came out of the water! He was clean! It was a good service and there was a good turnout of members there! Then we went to lunch in Cronulla and we took Elder Smith’s Comps back to their area! Smith stayed with us until Sunday for Rolf’s confirmation as well! Then we went and did Service for the Bakers and then we had dinner and played Catan again! Then We went home and went to bed haha I have never been so tired!!

Sunday- We had the confirmation of Rolf and I was the one who got to do that! I was really nervous because I have never done it before, but I did pretty good I think haha not that you can really judge a blessing! It was so cool to use my priesthood power to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost on someone and to confirm them a member of the church! Rolf is now the newest member of the Sutherland Ward! After church we had to take Smith back to Mortdale to be with his comps! Smith isn’t getting transferred either, he is staying in Mortdale, which is like a 15 minute drive from where I am, so we will still get to see each other a lot on P days and District/Zone meetings on Fridays! Anyways then later that night we went to Chris Lee’s house and had dinner with his wife and him! For our lesson we watched the full Restoration movie! Chris loved it! He has never seen it before and it was really eye opening to him and he thought it was really cool! During and after the movie I could feel the Spirit! We discussed the movie after and I just felt the burning inside me of the Sprit telling me it was all so true! I know this church is true!! Without a doubt in my mind I know it is and I could never deny it! I am grateful for this Gospel!

So this week Heavenly Father has strengthened my testimony on prayer. I have been praying a lot for strength to overcome my anxiety and home sickness and in return I am loving my mission and I am so excited to move forward in the mission! I still get glimpses of homesickness but who doesn’t? haha I definitely feel His presence in my life and I know He is helping me! Along with those prayers, he answered my prayers and fasting about Rolf! We prayed and fast for him so much and everything that we prayed for came to be! Rolf quit smoking and his urges went away! We promised Rolf all sorts of blessings as he strived to quit smoking and Heavenly Father poured out his blessings on Rolf and He truly did get Rolf where he is today! Really awesome to see and something I will never forget is Rolf’s progress to baptism! I really do love it out here! The mission is so hard but so fun at the same time! I love all of you and I know that if any of you are struggling with anything, just get on your knees and pray, then get up and work at overcoming or fixing whatever it is and Heavenly Father will provide the rest for you! You are never alone just remember that! I am so glad I made the decision to come on a mission and to stay out here! This is the most rewarding thing I have done and I have only been out 3 months! I can’t wait for the rest of my mission and what it has to offer to my life and those that I come in contact with along the way! All is well here and I hope all is well in your neck of the woods as well! Shoot your boy some emails of pics of what is going on in your life, I love hearing from everyone :) Have a good week!!

-Elder Jenson
hundeds, hundeds, hundeds

The Kendrick Family

Cam's mini-me... Blake  
DISTRICT. Cuuuuute

Elder Li "he's the man" his English is coming along.

Rolf's baptism

Cam and Rolf on his baptism day....